Court upholds soccer star Luis Suarez’s four-month ban for biting
By Ian Palmer
The low point of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil this summer was definitely seeing Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez take a bite out of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. It was the third time the 27-year-old was found guilty of biting an opponent during his career. FIFA handed him a four-month suspension and banned him for nine international games. The world’s governing body of soccer also stated that Suarez couldn’t practise with his team, attend games or attend any official soccer events.
As usual, Suarez felt the punishment was too harsh and decided to take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland (CAS). However, the outcome wasn’t exactly what he was looking for since the CAS upheld the suspension. Suarez, who was transferred to Spanish club Barcelona from Liverpool of the English Premier League following the latest biting incident, did receive a small victory though. This came when the CAS modified the terms of the suspension to allow him to attend games, practise with his teammates, and play in exhibition games.
After the ruling, Barcelona released a statement which said Suarez would begin training with the rest of the team on August 15 and will be officially introduced to the media and club’s fans four days later. Even though Suarez scored 31 goals for Liverpool last season to lead the league and was named the Premier League’s player of the year, the famous English club decided to sell him. He was shipped off to Barcelona for 75 million pounds (approximately $128 million) and signed a five-year deal with the Spanish side. While with Liverpool, Suarez was suspended once for biting an opponent and once for racially abusing another player.
Suarez’s first suspension for biting came back in 2010 while he was playing for Ajax in Holland. Since this year’s incident was his third biting ban, the CAS decided that FIFA’s punishment was fair, but he should still be allowed to train with his new team. His fine of $110,000 was also upheld. Suarez was hoping the CAS would overturn the ban since the incident took place during an international contest and the suspension affects games with his club team. However, the CAS said in a press statement they, “found that the sanctions imposed on the player were generally proportionate to the offense committed.” They added, “the stadium and training ban was excessive because the punishment would still have an impact on his activity after the suspension.”
So along with being sent home in disgrace from the 2014 World Cup, Suarez must now sit out his suspension until he’s eligible to play again at the end of October. He attempted to help his case a few days after the incident by apologizing for biting Chiellini on his Facebook page, but FIFA and the CAS saw through the charade. It’ll be interesting to see if Suarez has learned his lesson once he returns to action on October 25.
Bet he will do it again! He’s a vampire . . .